A genome-wide association study reveals the quantitative trait locus and candidate genes that regulate phosphate efficiency in a Vietnamese rice collection.

The crucial role of phosphate (Pi) for plant alongside the expected depletion of non-renewable phosphate rock have created an urgent need for phosphate-efficient rice varieties. In this study, 157 greenhouse-grown Vietnamese rice landraces were treated under Pi-deficient conditions to discover the genotypic variation among biochemical traits, including relative efficiency of phosphorus use (REP), relative root to shoot weight ratio (RRSR), relative physiological phosphate use efficiency (RPPUE), and relative phosphate uptake efficiency (RPUpE). Plants were grown in Yoshida nutrient media with either a full (320 μM) or a low Pi supply (10 μM) over six weeks.